


by any other name

by Delvainy



Category: Killing Eve (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, One Shot, Self-Indulgent, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25116994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delvainy/pseuds/Delvainy
Summary: “Why don’t you ever try to call me Oksana?”
Relationships: Eve Polastri/Villanelle | Oksana Astankova
Comments: 12
Kudos: 156





	by any other name

“Why don’t you ever try to call me Oksana?” Villanelle asked abruptly, turning from where she was lounging across their bed to look Eve in the eyes. The silk robe wrapped around her reminded Eve of another time, of  _ I’m not with them when I’m with them.  _

  
(Yes, she still thought about it. Thinking about Villanelle was a specialty of Eve’s.)

Caught staring, Eve reminded herself that she was  allowed  to look now. Villanelle certainly never minded the moments where Eve couldn’t tear her eyes away, but now Eve could bring herself to just  _ look _ without that familiar beast of guilt and darkness clawing at her insides. 

When Villanelle didn’t preen under her gaze, Eve realized somehow she had stumbled into a serious conversation. 

  
“Would you like me to?” Eve asked, placing aside the book that had made a very poor effort to pull her attention from Villanelle and her honey hair and bright skin and chest that was certainly not ale decha,  _ thank you very much.  _

“Wouldn’t you?” Villanelle replied noncommittally. “You used to call me Oksana. You know, before Paris.”

  
“I didn’t really know you then.” Eve joined Villanelle on the bed. “And I was so eager to show you what all I had found out about you that I didn’t even think about what you’d want.”

“Well,” Villanelle started, shifting onto her side to stare at Eve. (They really were just destined to parallel their past until the day they die, weren’t they?) “I was a trained assassin and murderer, and you were a MI6 agent wanting to take me down. You were allowed to not care about what I _wanted_.”

(Could one be a murderer in the past tense? Those people were still murdered, and Villanelle had still done it.) (Not that Eve had any room—or desire, really—to judge.)

Eve snorted, “Yeah, I’m sure past Villanelle would totally agree with you on that.” 

Villanelle smiled softly. Eve still found herself being filled with awe that this kind of look was directed at her. 

  
“Would you like me to call you Oksana?” Eve asked again, aware that Villanelle had dodged the question. 

“Well, I’d prefer baby, but—“ Villanelle cut herself off with a shrug when Eve didn’t laugh. “People seem to want to call me that when I’m not being naughty,”—AKA gruesomely killing people—“and I want you to trust me. Trust that I’m not going to hurt you.”

Eve’s instincts from before the pair had decided to try not to be, well,  _ awful  _ to each other wanted her to lash out, to say “It’s a bit late for that.” 

But they were each other’s family. They’d chosen each other. The last thing either of them needed was another cruel family. 

“‘People?’” 

(And if this was Fleabag, Villanelle would’ve winked at the audience, Eve could just tell.)

Villanelle waved the question away and stared at Eve expectantly, eyes wide and unblinking. 

“I don’t need to call you Oksana to know I can trust you. To- to  humanize you. Oksana isn’t your humane half just like Villanelle isn’t your monstrous half. They’re both just you. Neither is entirely good or evil because you’re a person. To act like you as Villanelle is just a perfect killing machine, a beautiful monster, does a disservice to how much can feel. How much you love me.” Eve fiddled with a strand of her own hair, feeling vulnerable. “Just like treating Oksana like this pure victimized creature does a disservice to the people you killed before you were recruited.”

“Wow, way to bring down the mood,” Villanelle snickered in a clear attempt to appear unaffected. Eve reached out and ran her hand through Villanelle hair. When she sighed and leaned into the touch, it was easy for Eve to ignore the flashbacks of  _ it really hurts  _ and  _ don’t pull it.  _

“I’ll call you whatever you want me to,  _ baby _ . I’ll call you Villanelle or Oksana or Julie or Billie or _whatever_ , and it wouldn’t bother me either way because it would still be you.” Eve leaned in and kissed Villanelle/Oksana/Baby/Julie/Billie softly on the lips. 

  
“What about the name Niko?” Villanelle said with a smirk when she pulled away from the kiss, eyes slowly opening. (They’d managed to close their eyes this time!)

It took Eve a moment to register what Villanelle had said, but when she did, she shoved Villanelle a little with a scoff. “God, and you say  I’m  the one that ruins moments.”

  
“You are,” Villanelle gave Eve a peck on the nose. Eve softened again. “Wouldn’t it feel less special to call me something everyone else gets to call me?”

“Well, that is how names tend to work,” Eve joked. “I know I’m special to you, baby. It’d take an idiot not to see that.” Villanelle’s mouth opened to speak, and Eve cut her off with A Look. “I get to call you baby, I get to call you V, I get to call you  mine . Trust me, I know how special that is, how much that means to you.”

“So cheesy.” Villanelle gave Eve her brightest smile, dimple showing. 

“What would you like me to call you? Honestly. Don’t be a dick.” 

“I guess Villanelle?” Villanelle started, scootching closer to Eve to rest her head in the crook of Eve’s neck. Her next words were slightly muffled. “People usually use ‘Oksana’ to try to manipulate me. I know that if you called me that for long enough I could maybe leave behind the issues I have with it. But I like that you know my birth name and you still choose to use the name I picked for myself.”

“Well, I do get the concept of a dead name, Villanelle.”

“And Oksana is literally dead.” Eve could feel the smile pressed against her skin. 

  
Villanelle pulled back from Eve’s neck, still close enough for Eve to feel Villanelle’s breath on her mouth. She gazed up into those wide hazel eyes and just let herself go, allowed herself to feel every soft, loving thing for Villanelle that she’d repressed for so long.

  
“So, now that we’ve figured out what name you’ll be calling out, want to have sex?”

Eve rolled her eyes. 

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, I wrote this in the middle of the night last night while Tell Me played on loop, and it is legit the most self-indulgent thing I have ever written. But, like, hope you liked it? First time writing Villaneve so, like, be kind please.   
> (I’m aware that season 4 might tear all of this into shreds and have like a big moment where Eve calls Villanelle Oksana, but this is what I think, so whatever, I’m willing to risk it.)


End file.
